News & Notes

A legacy of reading

In the summer of 2015, the LSU Libraries lost a great friend when an accident took the life of English professor Elizabeth “Lisi” Oliver.

Oliver always took an active interest in the library, offering helpful input into the status of the collection, advising librarians about what, in her view, it needed and didn’t need. Oliver’s family understood her attachment to the library, and in tribute to her, the Oliver family has donated Oliver’s entire personal library to LSU Libraries. This is no inconsiderable gift.

Delivered in fifty boxes, Oliver’s library spans a wildly varied gamut of interests. The collection includes the expected scholarly tomes on linguistics and literature. But it also includes works that reflect Oliver’s eclectic interests: works on sports and opera, murder mysteries (so many murder mysteries!), cookbooks and books on gardening and art. Many books are in obscure, ancient languages; many are in modern Romance languages and German.

We thank the Oliver family for this generous gift. Many of Oliver’s books will now find a home in the LSU Libraries’ general collection and will serve as a continuing reminder of our friend and colleague.